'Reality: Beyond The Imagination'

If you've not been living under a rock for the past week or two, chances are you’ll be aware of the recent launch of the Apple Vision Pro.

The feedback on the timeline has been somewhat mixed, but from what I can tell, it's currently leading the pack in VR/AR tech (well based on what's publicly available anyway…)

That being said, it seems we're still some way off from achieving a fully immersive experience.

Over time, there's little doubt for me, that this tech, or at least some iteration of it, will become as ubiquitous as the smartphone.

As it becomes more accessible, affordable, and less distracting/intrusive - evolving into something more refined like glasses or contact lenses - it’s likely to become a part of our everyday lives.

Combine that with advancements in AI, gaming engines, and perhaps even quantum computing, and I reckon we’ll see an explosion of people spending a large portion of their time living, operating, and interacting within a digital/virtual realm.

You think people are addicted to social media?

Give that thought a supercharged dose of steroids and even then I don’t think you’ll be touching the surface - let alone scratching it.

But then again, perhaps we might bypass the progression of headsets and optical devices altogether, for something more ground-breaking (or skull-piercing), like 'Neuralink'. (https://neuralink.com/)

This technology could pretty much plug conscious experience into the ‘Metaverse’ and enable it to interact directly with AI (less cumbersome, yes. Less intrusive, perhaps not).

It’s got me thinking quite a bit about what we value about our ‘reality’.

The symbiosis of technology with our consciousness is a real-time experiment that will be fascinating to watch unfold. And also a bit scary.

Ultimately, our brains are just biological computers. They process data from our senses and decode it into our perceived reality.

But what defines ‘reality’, and is it always as it seems?

It’s a nebulous and subjective experience, that can be altered and influenced by a wide range of factors - meditation, love, grief, euphoria, mind-altering substances, and spiritual experience - to name but a few.

So what’s to say that a fully immersive, virtual alternative couldn’t be considered…well, just as ‘real’?

Looking at the way we live our lives currently on the internet, it isn’t difficult to imagine a world (in the not-too-distant future) where people retreat to virtual realms to live and play, in a reality of their own making - à la 'Ready Player One'.

Virtual spaces where people spend time, form relationships and communities, start businesses, transact, and earn a living - underpinned by Crypto/blockchain and generative AI.

*Side note - this has a big part to play in my long-term thesis for the trajectory of the value of cryptocurrency.

Whether the above will be good or bad for humanity/society is another story…

However, as the lines become increasingly blurred between our ‘perceived’ and ‘actual’ reality; this raises some profound questions about the nature of our existence and consciousness.

• What do we truly value about 'reality'?

• What aspects of our consciousness instill our lives with meaning?

• Where does consciousness originate?

• Could our experience of reality just have been a simulation controlled by a teenage hacker in the next dimension up all along?

Some very well-respected thinkers like David Chalmers, Nick Bostrom, Donald Hoffman, and Ray Kurzweil have some extremely interesting thoughts on these topics, which I highly recommend reading into.

But then, perhaps I’m just leaning on these references so I don’t sound like a nut-job. 😂

I don’t necessarily argue for the concept of simulation theory, but it’s definitely some food for thought!

Anyway, I digress.

I think I’m gonna try and distill my thoughts on this and maybe do a bit more writing on the subject. Or maybe some drawing. Or perhaps even both - who knows.

In any case, I think it’s safe to say we are on the brink of a monumental step change in the human experience.

What a time to be alive.

WTVR x